2018 Winning Associate Dentist

Dr. Natalia Trisna Ainslie Street Dental & Southwest Dental (ON)

Nominated for Excellence

A native of Australia, Dr. Trisna moved to Canada after her husband’s lifelong dentist offered her an opportunity to practice general dentistry at his clinic. Her interest in dentistry stemmed from her experience with braces as a young adult. At the age of 12, she began a five-year course of orthodontic treatment and the resulting impact was profound. She recalls, “By the time I was 15, it basically changed my life – I had lots of friends, I was more outgoing, more social.”

It was this transformative effect that piqued her interest in dentistry and remains the most rewarding aspect of her current practice. She notes, “When you transform someone’s smile, you don’t just change their teeth, you also affect their personality and help them become more confident.”

Dr. Trisna further emphasizes the importance of developing trusting relationships with patients in order to deliver excellence in care, “When you develop that relationship with the patient, you want the best for them and you tell them why. It’s really important to get everything, spend that extra time, take that intraoral picture and get that patient to understand the problem, because you don’t see them very often and sometimes if things get missed, it can lead to bigger issues.”

"...when you transform someone’s smile, you don’t just change their teeth, you also affect their personality and help them become more confident."